The Will of Fire
by Magicfeather205
Summary: AU. Two best friends battle to the death at the Valley of the End. The mission to retrieve Sasuke ends in tragedy, and the fate of one unremarkable kunoichi is changed forever. Primarily Sakura's POV.


Hello! This isn't the first story I've written, but it's the first one I've published. I've had this story planned out for a while, but I was dithering with actually putting it out there. If you could provide feedback, I'd be really grateful!

I was really disappointed with how Sakura was handled in the manga. She's Tsunade's apprentice! She should be amazing. This story will be primarily Sakura's POV, and I'm hoping to give her the story she deserves without being too OOC.

Warnings: Character death. I'm not writing a gore-fest, but I don't plan to shy away from the dark part of a shinobi's work either.

Prologue

The rasengan in his hand spun wildly out of his control, ripped apart by the crackling chidori. Knocked flying by the blast wave, Naruto collided with the water with bone-shaking force and sunk into the silent dark.

Shock rendered him immobile. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. His fingers stung from the burn inflicted by the lightning. The power and menace behind the attack was unmistakable.

 _Sasuke just tried to kill me._

Naruto felt the pressure of the water lessen as he started drifting upwards, but his heart felt as heavy as a stone. Rattled to his core, Naruto broke the surface and let himself float on his back, staring blankly up at the roiling storm clouds above. Water fell in a torrent from the sky. The rain that had blown in during his fight with Kimimaro had developed into a thunderstorm. Inside Naruto's heart, a similar storm raged.

 _There's no doubt about it_ , he thought. _You're serious._

Slowly, he turned his head to gaze at the Uchiha. Sasuke crouched on the river a short distance away, riding the roiling water. His ink black hair was plastered to his face, and in the dark of the storm his sharingan eyes seemed to burn. Naruto searched, but he saw nothing but hate there.

He pulled himself up onto his knees, his body aching to his bones. His stomach sank as he read the truth in his friend's face. Unbidden, tears burned his eyes and spilled down his cheeks, mingling with the icy rain.

 _Seriously … how? Can you really kill me calmly? Sasuke …_

Naruto watched, dazed, as black ink marks crawled across Sasuke's body and face. His lips were twisted into a cruel smile. Through the pouring rain, Naruto saw Sasuke's hands weave signs and braced himself. As Sasuke drew back, Naruto leapt as high as he could. Fireballs blazed and flew through the air towards him, soaring harmlessly under his feet. He registered a flicker next to his face moments before something slammed into his cheek, knocking him near senseless. As he fell back towards the water, he glimpsed Sasuke's grin.

Naruto hit the water before he could right himself. He pulled himself to the surface and barely sensed Sasuke fly over his head. He spun in time to take Sasuke's fist straight to the gut.

It was useless. His mind wasn't on the fight. He staggered helplessly as Sasuke beat on him, aiming for his ribs, his throat, his face. A part of Naruto simply wasn't there any more. Instead, memories spun through his head. Sasuke in the academy. Sasuke sitting forlornly on a dock. All the spats, all the arguments, all the insults they threw at each other. Training together. Challenging each other. Fighting at each other's backs.

On the bridge with Haku. Naruto had watched, helpless, as Sasuke took an attack meant for him. He'd held Sasuke in his arms as his life appeared to bleed out of him.

Had it all meant nothing to him?

Naruto gagged as Sasuke gripped his throat and lifted him in the air. His body was in too much agony to move. His eyes flew open as chidori burst into life in Sasuke's hand. The white light illuminated Sasuke's face, and for the first time, Naruto felt like he didn't recognise it. At the sight, he was suddenly angry.

Naruto grimaced as a dark, burning chakra flared in his belly. A familiar energy coursed through his veins, numbing the pain and stoking the anger. He snarled.

 _Damn you, you stubborn bastard. I am taking you home to Konoha, even if I have to break you first!_ He would keep his promise to Sakura, no matter what it took.

His fingers twitched. Just a little more; just seconds more, and the demon fox would heal him enough so he could fight …

Lightning flashed through the sky, brighter even than the chidori. Thunder rumbled, and under the angry cry of the storm, Naruto just barely heard Sasuke's shout.

"It's too late now, Naruto!"

Sasuke's hand plunged into Naruto's chest.

 _Pain._ Naruto's body jerked violently, and his mouth stretched wide in a scream. But he could barely hear it. It was as if he had been plunged into the water again; sound was muffled instantly, and then slowly, the crash of the rain on the water and the crackling of the chidori faded away entirely. A strange cold was spreading through his veins, numbing his limbs. The dark chakra had disappeared. His vision blurred around the edges. He stared at the swirling tomoes of Sasuke's eyes as a darkness crept in, and watched them split and rearrange themselves into a new shape. Then he closed his eyes.

Deep in his core, something was thrashing in panic. Inside his heart, though, Naruto was strangely calm. All his pain was gone.

Sasuke dragged Naruto's limp body onto the shore. Gasping for breath, he let the dead weight slip from his fingers and drop face-first into the mud. The blond didn't stir.

Sasuke's heart beat frantically in his heaving chest, and his blood soaked hands wouldn't stop shaking. He stared down at the body of his best friend. The rain still fell, but lighter now. The thunder had passed. Slowly, almost reluctantly, Sasuke reached up and untied his forehead protector. He knelt down and laid it carefully on the ground beside Naruto's head. Then he got up and walked away.

Inside Naruto's body, the demon fox howled. The immortal being was consumed by fear as death claimed him, dragging him into the great unknown.

Not even the kyuubi could heal a shredded heart.


End file.
